Who will make the boys’ and girls’ Sweet 16s? Check out who the media picks.
Who among the hundreds of Kentucky boys’ and girls’ high school basketball teams will win their respective regions and earn a trip to Rupp Arena for the Sweet 16 state tournaments?
The journalists who have been voting in this season’s new Kentucky High School Basketball Media Polls have some ideas.
Organized by the Courier Journal’s Jason Frakes, these journalists have made their picks on every boys’ and girls’ region champion even though those tournaments are more than a week away.
The Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 is set for March 8-11. The UK Healthcare Boys’ Sweet 16 will be held March 15-18.
Here are the media voters: Chelsea Parker, The Paducah Sun; Scott Brown, YourSportsEdge.com/WKDZ-FM; Mark Mathis, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer; Micheal Compton, Bowling Green Daily News; Josh Claywell, Bardstown Kentucky Standard/LaRue County Herald News; Dominique Yates, WLKY-TV; Jason Frakes, Courier Journal; Josiah Koenig, Oldham Era; James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer; Evan Dennison, LinkNKY.com; Jared Peck, Lexington Herald-Leader; Mike Marsee, Danville freelancer; Les Dixon, 13thRegionMediaNetwork.com; John Lowe, WYMT-TV; Randy White, Pikeville Appalachian News-Express; Matthew Sparks, Ashland Daily Independent.
Teams are ranked by the number of votes they received to win their respective regions. For teams who didn’t receive the majority of votes, the voters’ names are listed. This list was first published by the Courier Journal.
Girls’ Sweet 16 picks
1ST REGION
16—McCracken County (unanimous).
2ND REGION
15—Henderson County.
1—Hopkins County Central (Dennison).
3RD REGION
15—Meade County.
1—Owensboro (White).
4TH REGION
15—Bowling Green.
1—Barren County (Marsee).
5TH REGION
15—Bethlehem.
1—Taylor County (Lowe).
6TH REGION
14—Mercy.
2—Bullitt East (Lowe, Dixon).
7TH REGION
16—Sacred Heart (unanimous).
8TH REGION
11—Anderson County.
5—Spencer County (Brown, Koenig, Ladd, Mathis, White).
9TH REGION
14—Cooper.
1—Covington Holy Cross (White).
1—Ryle (Sparks).
10TH REGION
16—George Rogers Clark (unanimous).
11TH REGION
7—Franklin County (Claywell, Compton, Dennison, Dixon, Frakes, Sparks, Yates).
7—Frederick Douglass (Brown, Koenig, Ladd, Mathis, Peck, Weber, White).
2—Madison Central (Lowe, Marsee).
12TH REGION
8—Danville.
5—Pulaski County (Brown, Dennison, Frakes, Mathis, Weber).
2—Southwestern (Marsee, Peck).
1—Mercer County (Sparks).
13TH REGION
14—North Laurel.
2—Corbin (Frakes, White).
14TH REGION
13—Leslie County.
1—Knott County Central (Dixon).
1—Owsley County (Lowe).
1—Perry County Central (Brown).
15TH REGION
16—Pikeville (unanimous).
16TH REGION
6—Russell.
5—Rowan County (Brown, Claywell, Compton, Frakes, Marsee).
4—Boyd County (Dixon, Ladd, Sparks, White).
1—Ashland Blazer (Lowe).
Boys’ Sweet 16 picks
1ST REGION
13—McCracken County.
3—Murray (Brown, Marsee, Peck).
2ND REGION
16—Lyon County (unanimous).
3RD REGION
9—Owensboro Catholic.
7—Ohio County (Brown, Frakes, Koenig, Marsee, Mathis, Peck, Sparks).
4TH REGION
16—Warren Central (unanimous).
5TH REGION
11—Taylor County.
4—LaRue County (Claywell, Dennison, Mathis, Peck).
1—North Hardin (White).
6TH REGION
11—Evangel Christian.
5—Pleasure Ridge Park (Brown, Lowe, Marsee, Weber, White).
7TH REGION
11—Ballard.
5—Male (Brown, Dennison, Frakes, Koenig, Sparks).
8TH REGION
14—North Oldham.
2—Collins (Compton, Lowe).
9TH REGION
12—Covington Catholic.
4—Conner (Claywell, Dennison, Koenig, Peck).
10TH REGION
14—George Rogers Clark.
2—Mason County (Koenig, Lowe).
11TH REGION
10—Lexington Catholic.
5—Frederick Douglass (Brown, Dennison, Dixon, Mathis, Sparks).
1—Great Crossing (Frakes).
12TH REGION
8—Lincoln County (Brown, Compton, Dennison, Dixon, Frakes, Marsee, Peck, Sparks).
8—Pulaski County (Claywell, Koenig, Ladd, Lowe, Mathis, Weber, White, Yates).
13TH REGION
11—North Laurel.
4—Harlan County (Frakes, Koenig, Sparks, Yates).
1—Corbin (Brown).
14TH REGION
15—Hazard.
1—Breathitt County (Dennison).
15TH REGION
16—Pikeville (unanimous).
16TH REGION
11—Boyd County.
4—Ashland Blazer (Marsee, Mathis, White, Yates).
1—Russell (Lowe).
This story was originally published February 18, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
